2003 Fargo Film Festival
Category: Fargo Filmmaking Wiki Category: Film Festival The 2003 Fargo Film Festival was held March 5 through 8 at the Fargo Theatre. Awards and Award Winners In 2003, the festival committee announced the inauguration of the Ruth Landfield Award honoring films celebrating women of courage, conviction, and compassion. The award was named to honor Ruth Landfield for her long-standing commitment to the health and well-being of the historic Fargo Theatre. ::Winner of Best Documentary Feature: The Children Remember ::Winner of Best Documentary Feature (Native American Voices): They Call Me Chief ::Winner of Best Documentary Short: Intertwined ::Winner of Best Documentary Short (Native American Voices): American Holocaust ::Winner of Best Narrative Feature: Two Summers ::Winner of Best Narrative Short (Comedy): Creative Process 473 ::Winner of Best Narrative Short (Drama): Ice Cream Sundae ::Winner of Best Narrative Short (Native American Voices): Thorn Grass ::Winner of Best Student Film: Ocha Cups for Christmas ::Recipient of the Bill Snyder Award: The Children Remember ::Recipient of the Ted M. Larson Award: Janet Leigh ::Recipients of the Ruth Landfield Award: Nancy Burggraf: Power and Stride and Searching for Wooden Watermelons Festival Programming Wednesday, March 5 Afternoon Session * Signed, Stamped, Dated: The Story of the Typing Explosion directed by Gina Mainwal ::Documentary Short, 29 minutes, Seattle, Washington. A humorous profile of three female poets who perform wearing 60s secretarial outfits while typing poetry on demand on vintage typewriters. * Buckethead and the Rapture directed by Matt Brownsword ::Narrative Short, 9 minutes, East Sussex, England. A boy is born with a bucket on his head. We follow Buckethead throughout a happy childhood and learn that his mother is a religious fundamentalist who forbids her son to attend school due to the imminent arrival of "the Rapture." * Sniper 470 (2002) directed by Paul Holmes ::Narrative Short, 27 minutes, Glasgow, Scotland. Billy Boyd plays Sniper 470, a lone astronaut sitting in a pod millions of miles from earth. His mission is to destroy passing convoys of spaceships with a giant laser, and, with luck, survive his enemies' lethal counter-attacks. * Birdy in the Cage (2003) directed by Greg Carlson ::Narrative Short, 9 minutes, Fargo, North Dakota. A short comedy that examines what happens when the ennui of four friends gives way to a desire to learn how to square-dance on the hottest day of the year. Director present. * Downsizing directed by J. Brad Wilke ::Narrative Short, 16 minutes, Tacoma, Washington. When faced with an impending economic crisis, mother and father decide that in order to maintain their status as an affluent, upper middle class family, they must adjust their composition by letting one of their three young children go in hopes of increasing cash flow to more important areas of family operation. * Stocking Stuffers (2001) directed by Angel Connell ::Narrative Short, 4 minutes, Westford, Massachusetts. A comedic film short comprised of three hosiery commercials which examine how an object of desire (the shapely legs of a young woman wearing pantyhose) can be used to subvert human values. How said object of desire is utilized by its protagonists (and viewed voyeuristically by the audience) provides a subtle yet satiric edge to this thinking person's film. * Old Man Dies directed by Chris Blaine and Ben Blaine ::Narrative Short, 10 minutes, Boormans Park, Hertfordshire, England. An unnamed man lies prone in bed, ready to die, trying to tell his life story, including his work for the Ham and Fish Association, his time as a dancer for a now dead pop band and how he sought insanity to outmaneuver death and be reunited with the woman he loves. * Maledetta Primavera directed by Craig Cobb ::Narrative Short, 12 minutes, Long Island City, New York. A heartbroken young Italian joins a monastery after getting a "Dear Giovanni" letter from his girlfriend. The monastery has a vow of silence which is only broken once a day. After days of blissfully mundane and silent work, he happens to witness the demise of the monastery's relic of its patron saint, and its fraudulent replacement. After increasingly desperate attempts to get the attention of the other brothers, he finally succeeds, only to be told the truth of the relic. Director present. * Creative Process 473 (2002) directed by Perry Grebin and Michael Nigro ::Narrative Short, 14 minutes, New York, New York. Trapped in a small room, two writers running on creative fumes attempt to break free from the limits of scripting a low-budget film. But they hit the wall. Hard. Director/Producer present. Evening Session * Nancy Burggraf: Power and Stride directed by Sarah McCurdy ::Documentary Feature, 57 minutes, Moorhead, Minnesota. The inspiring documentary of a woman from Roseau, Minnesota, who succeeded in a male-dominated world and changed the game of hockey forever. Those who knew Nancy treasure her for what she taught them. They continue to pass on her legacy. Moviemakers and Burggraf family members present. * Ice Cream Sundae (2001) directed by Desiree Nosbusch ::Narrative Short, 12 minutes, Los Angeles, Caifornia. Lisa, an attractive pregnant woman in her late 20s, is strolling through Neiman Marcus, the Beverly Hills landmark department store. She is forty pounds overweight, miserable, and has six more weeks to go. An elegant lady (Tippi Hedren) tells the story of a young woman who, just like Lisa, never felt beautiful and desirable enough. * Searching for Wooden Watermelons (2003) directed by Bryan Goldsworthy ::Narrative Feature, 86 minutes, Burbank, California. The heartfelt story of three generations of southern women learning to walk the fine line between loving and letting go. When Judie Farnie is forced to choose between her lifelong dream or taking care of her family, she discovers that leaving home is much more than just leaving town. Writer, producer, director, and star present. Thursday, March 6 * Delafield directed by Mark Brodin * Intertwined directed by Kate Oestreich * Umatilla directed by RJ McHatton * The Children Remember directed by Kathleen Laughlin * Inside Outside Lydia's Head directed by Dominick Reyntiens * Two Summers directed by Bruce Lapointe * The Utopian Society directed by John Aguirre Friday, March 7 * Venice: Lost and Found directed by Brad Bemis and Gary Davies. * Fly directed by Jason Russell * Low Grade Genius directed by Kyja Kristjansson-Nelson * Der Seltsame Klang der Stille directed by Marcel Baessler * Think but This and All Is Mended directed by Caity Birmingham * Orbital directed by Ryan Lanius * A Short Story directed by Dan Dolentz * Ocha Cups for Christmas directed by Michael Fimognari * Childhood Lost directed by Doug Cuthand * A Century of Genocide directed by Rosemary Gibbons * Alcatraz Is Not an Island (2000) directed by James Fortier * Who Will Take Our Yaks? * They Call Me Chief directed by Don Marks * American Holocaust: When It's All Over, I'll Still Be Indian directed by Joanelle Romero * Thorn Grass directed by D.R. Hammer * Fearsome directed by Anghus Houvouras * Between Resistance and Community directed by Jimmy Choi * Existo directed by Coke Sams Saturday, March 8 * Ojibwemowin: Ojibwe Oral Tradition directed by Lorraine Norrgard * Only the Devil Speaks Cree directed by Pamela Matthews * Redskins, Tricksters and Puppy Stew directed by Drew Hayden Taylor * Ocha Cups for Christmas directed by Michael Fimognari * Intertwined directed by Kate Oestreich * Saskatchewan directed by Brian Stockton * The Offering directed by Paul Lee * Suspension directed by Jon Novak * Hello Junkie directed by Graham Elwood * Blueberry directed by Brett Bell * The Least of These (2002) directed by Rik Swartzwelder * Creative Process 473 directed by Perry Grebin and Michael Nigro * Ice Cream Sundae directed by Desiree Nosbuch External Links * 2003 Fargo Film Festival Winners at the Internet Movie Database * Birdy in the Cage at the Internet Movie Database * Creative Process 473 at the Internet Movie Database * Ice Cream Sundae at the Internet Movie Database * The Least of These at the Internet Movie Database * Searching for Wooden Watermelons at the Internet Movie Database * Sniper 470 at the Internet Movie Database * Stocking Stuffers at the Internet Movie Database * Two Summers at the Internet Movie Database * Venice: Lost and Found at the Internet Movie Database